Types Of Rodents Found In North Texas

There has probably never been a time in human existence when people did not cohabitate with rodents. As soon as man came on the scene, the rodent population figured out that there is no better way to get an easy meal and a warm, dry place to sleep than to stick with us. There was probably a time when humans didn’t give much thought to why these creatures would want to live among us. It was just a fact of life. You did what you could to protect your stored food so they wouldn’t eat it all, and left it at that. Then, in Medieval Europe, the plague drew the line in the sand between rodents and people, and we have been fighting them ever since. Learn more about wood rats.

Luckily, we have learned a lot about the dangers of living too closely with rodents in modern times. We now know that they carry a multitude of bacteria and disease that can easily transfer to humans when they invade our homes and contaminate our food, or just by crawling across the kitchen floor. We know that rodents breed very quickly and leave behind feces which then contaminates the very air we breathe causing us to get sick. We also know that when they are not eating and sleeping, rodents are chewing constantly on wood, cardboard, plastic, and even wires doing hundreds of dollars worth of damage or more in our homes, and even creating a fire hazard without us having any idea they are there.

Here in North Texas, we have our fair share of rodent activity. There are three types of rodents that are the main culprits of problems for homeowners all over the area: the house mouse, the roof rat, and the Norway rat.

The house mouse is one of the smaller species. They generally have round ears and a long, pointed nose along with a long tail. These creatures are usually gray to brown with a white or tan underbelly. These mice may seem kind of cute and relatively harmless, but they are a common household problem carrying disease and destruction with them.

The roof rat is double to triple the length of your average house mouse. They have darker colored fur than the mouse ranging from brown to black with a lighter shade on its belly. They have large ears and eyes. Its name comes from its tendency to get inside buildings by climbing trees and getting to the roof. They prefer to live in elevated areas; so they may be found living quite comfortably in the rafters of the attic.

The Norway rat is the largest and heaviest of the three. They grow to be a foot long from nose to the tip of the tail with shaggy brown fur on its back and a white underbelly. Their nose is blunt, and they have a shorter tail and smaller ears than the roof rat. These creatures tend to nest in underground burrows, and they may find basements a comfortable place to be as long as they can remain undisturbed.

No matter which of these rodents home and business owners are faced with, they are nothing but bad news for the property and the people who live and work there, and their presence should not be taken lightly. If you discover rodents on your property, be sure to call Adams Exterminating Company. Our technicians are experts at elimination and at prevention of future invasions from these pests. A quick call is all it takes to begin your rodent-free life.